South Region final matches Gators against Michigan, which upset No. 1 Kansas in OT

ARLINGTON, Texas 
SEC champion Florida is going to its third straight NCAA regional final, while the improbable tournament journey for Florida Gulf Coast is over.

The Eagles, the No. 15 seed few people even knew of on Selection Sunday, had their season ended just before midnight Friday with a 62-50 loss to one of the big schools from Florida.

The high-flying team from “Dunk City” jumped out to an early 11-point lead. But the No. 3 seed Gators (29-7) and their roster filled with NCAA tourney experience were just too strong and too good. FGCU matched its season low for points.

Michael Frazier made a pair of 3-pointers from the left side, in front of the Gulf Coast bench, to start a 16-0 run late in the first half. Those were Frazier’s only baskets of the game, but they came during a 41/2-minute span when the Eagles (26-11) suddenly couldn’t even get off a shot. They missed their only field goal attempt while turning the ball over four times in that span.

That slump finally ended when Sherwood Brown, their dreadlocked senior showman, made a layup in the final minute to get Florida Gulf Coast back within 30-26 by halftime.

But FGCU players walked down the steps off the raised court at Cowboys Stadium at the break with their heads down — much different from the team that looked so loose and ready for a good time after an early 11-0 run — similar to extended spurts they had in upsetting No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 7 seed San Diego State.

The Gators play Michigan (29-7) in the South Region final at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday. They are trying to get to their first NCAA Final Four since consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007.

After the Gators turned up the defensive pressure, the most fun team this side of the Harlem Globetrotters was suddenly having a lot fewer laughs. Those high-flying dunks and alley-oops weren’t there and Florida forced 20 turnovers.

FGCU heads back to Fort Myers (aka Dunk City), where they have man-made lakes and a beach on campus, having given the tournament a blast of fresh air while its players were just having a blast.

Mike Rosario led the Gators with 15 points, while Scottie Wilbekin had 13 and Casey Prather 11. Brown led FGCU with 14 points, and Chase Fieler had 12.

FGCU had a 15-4 lead only six minutes into the game.

Could the first No. 15 seed to make it into the round of 16 actually go further?

Not against Florida, the team that had been here so many times before. The FGCU run came too early, leaving the Gators plenty of time to recover.

No. 4 Michigan 87, No. 1 Kansas 85 (OT): Michigan’s Trey Burke wasn’t simply the best player on the court with Kansas. He was the gutsiest.

After being held scoreless in the first half, the sophomore guard drilled an impossibly nervy three-pointer to knot the score at 76 with 4.2 seconds remaining. And there it remained, forcing overtime for the Wolverines, who had trailed for all but roughly one minute of the game.